Mailing piece



April 20, 1943- A E. B. BERKowlTz 2,316,757

MAILING PIECE l Filed Jan. '181941 nu n, n

Patented Apr. 20, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE to VBerkowitzl Envelope Company,

Kansas City,

Mo., a corporation of Delaware Application January 18, 1941, Serial No.` 375,039

1 Claim.

This invention relates to mailing pieces and particularly envelopes' of the order blank or letter type wherein an order or message is 'written thereon and the blank foldedto retain an enclosure such as currency, check or thelike.l Such blanks have not proven entirely satisfactory for this purpose since the enclosure is easily removed therefrom withoutbreaking thel seal of the envelope.

It is, therefore, a principal object of the present invention to provide a mailing piece of this character wherein the enclosure is securely retained and protected from pilferage through riiiing of the envelope.

In accomplishing this and other objects of the invention, as hereinafter pointed out, I have provided improved details of structure, the preferred form of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a mailing piece constructed in accordance with the present invention and folded ready for mailing.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the back side of the folded mailing piece.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the mailing piece prior to folding.

Fig. 4 is a perspective View showing the side flaps folded to retain an enclosure.

Fig. 5 shows the transverse fold to form the front and back of the envelope with the side thereof in sealed condition.

Referring more in detail to the drawing:

I designates a mailing piece which includes a single sheet of foldable material, preferably in the form of a died-out blank of foldable material to provide a substantially rectangular 4body portion 2 having a sealing flap 3 projecting from one edge substantially at the mid-portion thereof to leave side flaps 4 and 5 on the respective sides of a mid-portion 6, which constitute the front and back portions l and 8 of a folded envelope.

The transverse folds of the side flaps 4 and 5 are preferably defined by transverse lines or scores 9 and ID extending completely across the width of the blank substantially at the terminals I I and I2 of the sealing flap. The blank is similarly provided with a longitudinal fold line or score I3 extending completely across the midportion 6 and the flaps 4 and 5 to denne a line of fold between the front and back portions 'I and 8.

The fold I3 is located substantially at the longitudinal median point of the blank so that the edge I4 of the back portion 8 substantially registers with a line of fold I5 for the sealing flap 3. While the edges I 6 and II of the side aps may be coextensive with the fold I5 and edge I 4, they converge slightly toward the central fold I 3 to provide clearance for facilitating fold of the seal flap thereover, as later described.

When ltheblank is folded, one of the side naps, for example 4, is folded over the mid-portion t to retain an enclosuretherebetween. The other flap 5 is then folded thereover, after which the front and back portions are folded on the longitudinal fold line I3. .The sealing flap is provided with a gum stripe I9 extending across the width thereof in the manner of the gum on the sealing ap of an ordinary envelope.

When the envelope is folded and sealed, the enclosure is retained by the folds 9 and I, but the edge 20 of the outermost flap is exposed at the side of the folded enclosure, and it is possible for the enclosure to be rifled from the envelope through insertion of a wire under the exposed edges of the outermost flap, engaging the enclosure and drawing the enclosure between the flaps and through the side of the envelope. In order to overcome this possibility, the side flap 5, when folded on the line I0, has the edge 20 thereof terminating short and spaced inwardly of .the fold 9, as shown in Fig. 4, to leave a sealing area 2| on the exposed portion of the folded flap Il, which exposed portion is provided with a gum stripe 22 extending between the fold lines I3 and I 5. Therefore, when the gum 22 is moistened and the blank is folded on the line I3, the gum adheres to the corresponding area 23 on the back nap at the opposite side of the fold line I3 to close the overlapping edges 20 of the flap 5 and prevent pilferage of the enclosure.

The inner face of the body portion of the blank, including the side, front, and back flaps, may be printed in the manner of an order blank and provided with the necessary printed instructions ooncerning an order for goods, payment of money, or the like. The exterior face of the front portion of the envelope may be printed with the name and place of the addressee, as indicated at 24, and the upper, left-hand corner thereof may be provided with lines 25 on which the sender may apply his name and address. The inside of the sealing flap is preferably provided with instructions, as indicated at 26, for folding and sealing of the flaps over an enclosure'.

In using the mailing piece, the order or ther like may be entered on the body portion of the envelope and an enclosure, such as currency, check, or the like, is placed over the mid-portion Ii of the blank so that it extends across the fold line I3. The side flaps are then folded so that the iiap 4 or the one carrying the gum 22 is folded directly over the enclosure. 'I'he other flapl is then folded over the ap 4 and the gum 22 moistened, after which the partially folded blank is folded on the line I3 to form the front and lback portions of an envelope and bring the area 23 into sealing Contact with the gum 22. The gum on the sealing ap is then moistened and the sealing ap folded over the back portion to complete the envelope. When the envelope is thus folded and sealed, the enclosure is securely retained and is guarded against pil-lV said transverse folds so that the free edge of said "underlying flap is protected by the transverse ferage on two edges by the folds on the lines I0 and i3 and on the other two edges by the seal 22 and fold I5 oaf the sealing flap. Y

When the envelope is to be opened, the sealing flap may be severed in the usualmanne'r,V

after which the front and back portions are pulled apart to break the side seal. The seal, being located adjacent the fold line, is at a strong point of the Venvelope and the adhered fibers of the paper merely split` apart without tearing thesheet. Y

From the foregoing it is obvious that I have provided a mailing piece of the order' blank or letter type which, when folded and sealed,'se curely retains an enclosure and which guards the enclosure against pilferage or removal without breaking one or the other of the sealed areas.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A mailing piece comprising a sheet of Ioldable yunderlying side flap being of substantially the width of the front and back portions between fold between the' overlying side ap and the front and back portions, said overlying side iiap having the free edge spaced inwardly from the other transverse fold to leave a relatively narrow exposed area of said underlying ap, a sealing flap on one ofY said portions adapted to fold over the other portion when the mailing piece is folded on said longitudinal fold after folding of the side aps, gum on the mailing piece ior securing the sealing flap to said other portion when the sealing ap is folded, and gum substantially coextensive with said exposed area on one side of the longitudinal line of fold to sealingly engage said exposed area at the opposite side of the fold.

EUGENE B. BERKOWITZ. 

